According to The Wrap, METALLICA‘s new movie, “Metallica Through The Never”, opened this weekend to an estimated $1.67 million — the best opening for a concert film ever at IMAX theaters. The movie, which debuted on 308 3D IMAX screens, earned an estimated $780,000 on its first day. That gave the film a per-location average of $5,482. A blend of concert movie and fictional narrative, it will expand to 650 theaters next weekend.

Financed by the METALLICA members themselves at a budget of $18 million, “Metallica Through The Never” is the first new release via Picturehouse, the full-service independent film marketing and distribution company started in 2005, which reopened its doors with founder Bob Berney at the helm. The film, written and directed by Nimród Antal (“Kontroll”, “Predators”), stars members of the iconic rock band and Dane DeHaan (“Chronicle”, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”). DeHaan plays a young band crew member who is sent out on an urgent mission while the band is playing a rousing live set in front of a sold-out crowd and unexpectedly finds his world turned completely upside down.

“The hardest thing in Hollywood is trying to sell an idea that has no point of reference,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told the Los Angeles Times. “If you can’t sit there and go, ‘It’s like ‘The Bourne Identity’ meets ‘Private Ryan’ meets ‘Star Trek’, they just look at you like, ‘What are you talking about?'”

Berney told The Wall Street Journal that “Through The Never” doesn’t need to draw the uninitiated to theaters for the film to succeed. The band’s fans — hardcore or casual — are enough. “Maybe we can wake up the ones who haven’t thought about them for a while, like the guy in the cubicle with the METALLICA shirt on under his suit,” he said.

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

CBS‘ “Sunday Morning” program featured METALLICA earlier today (Sunday, September 29) on “For The Record”. They talked about the good times — and bad — they experienced since their formation more than three decades ago in Southern California. You can now watch the segment below.

METALLICA‘s “Metallica Through The Never” film officially opened on Friday (September 27) for an exclusive week-long run on IMAX screens before expanding to other theaters on October 4.

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this past Wednesday (September 25).

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

The members of METALLICA made select personal appearances at theaters around the country starting this past Thursday (September 26) to celebrate the release of “Metallica Through The Never”. The film officially opened on Friday (September 27) for an exclusive week-long run on IMAX screens before expanding to other theaters on October 4.

Video footage of METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett‘s appearance AMC Mayfair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday can be seen below.

Asked what inspired the whole concept of a narrative-style feature instead of a traditional concert film, Hammett told FEARnet.com: “Well, when you look at concert movies over the last thirty or so years, they all kind of look the same, you know? They combine the concert with interviews with the band, footage backstage, maybe a little history of the band or whatnot… and we didn’t want to go down that same old road, especially when you have 3D and IMAX to play with. So we all decided that it had to have a story to really make it as memorable and unique as possible.”

Hammett also spoke about what it was like to see himself on a thirty-foot-high screen in 3D for the first time. “You know, I really do not like watching myself on screen, so it was actually pretty laborious for me,” he said. “It’s no problem for the other guys, but watching myself, all I could think was, ‘Oh, man, what a big dork I am… a big dork in 3D IMAX!'”

Regarding whether there was special blocking or choreography that made the 3D shoot more challenging, Hammett said: “It wasn’t so much the 3D camera setup as the stage itself, which had to function very specifically for the movie. There were sections that were really dangerous, shooting flames and smoke everywhere, and we had to know exactly where the ‘safe zones’ were, so we didn’t get torched or electrocuted, or have a thousand-pound rig fall on our heads. It was pretty crazy.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this past Wednesday (September 25).

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

The members of METALLICA made select personal appearances at theaters around the country starting this past Thursday (September 26) to celebrate the release of “Metallica Through The Never”. The film officially opened on Friday (September 27) for an exclusive week-long run on IMAX screens before expanding to other theaters on October 4.

Video footage of METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich‘s appearance AMC in Norwalk, California — just down the street from where METALLICA was born in Downey — on Friday can be seen below.

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this past Wednesday (September 25).

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

METALLICA‘s new 3D IMAX movie, “Metallica Through The Never”, opens this Friday (September 27) on IMAX screens before expanding to more theaters on October 4.

A new video interview with members of METALLICA and the film’s director, Nimród Antal, can be seen below (courtesy of NME TV).

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this past Wednesday (September 25).

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

SidewalksTV.com spoke to the members of METALLICA prior to the September 16 screening of their movie “Metallica Through The Never” at the Metreon Theatre in San Francisco. You can watch the footage below.

“It’s kind of bizarre actually, to be standing on a red carpet in a place where you usually buy your popcorn,” METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It really brings it home, knowing that you’re premiering your film in a place where you bring your kids to watch movies.”

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which will open in limited release on IMAX screens around the country on September 27. The film will then expand to more theaters on October 4.

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, was released on September 24. The two-disc CD came out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

The members of METALLICA have revealed that they were asked to send the lyrics to their entire discography to the Chinese government for approval before they were given permission to play in the country. “We had to give them a whole set of songs and they went through all the lyrics and okayed which ones we could play, which ones we couldn’t play,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett revealed during an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” on Monday, September 23. “They see a lyric like ‘Master Of Puppets’ being so subversive that they’re not allowing us to play it. It’s kind of scary.” Added METALLICA frontman James Hetfield: “And that just brings more attention to it, of course. That doesn’t work.”

According to METALLICA, they never considered canceling their Chinese shows after being told which songs they couldn’t perform in the country.

“There were 40,000 kids over those two nights that were, I mean, they were really responding to what we were doing,” said METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich. “It was insane.”

“Whatever rules they set down, the fans were there to have fun,” stated Hetfield. “We got our foot in the door. We were able to go and play in China. That was the key.”

“What I did is, I had an open guitar solo thing where I just sit there and riff,” said Hammett. “I played the riff for ‘Master Of Puppets’ and a couple of other songs that weren’t allowed to be played. I played just the music, so I kind of snuck it in there.”

Ulrich also explained that METALLICA‘s Chinese fans were fully aware of the restrictions that were placed upon the band during their appearance in the country. “What we’re talking about here is not a secret. They published it on government web sites — what songs we could play and what we couldn’t. I mean, it’s fine.”

METALLICA played for the first time ever in China last month, doing two sold-out shows at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on August 13 and August 14. The first night sold out in record time and faster than any other Western act that has played the country before.

METALLICA‘s new film, “Metallica Through The Never”, opens exclusively at select IMAX theatres nationwide on September 27 and will expand into additional theatres and cities on October 4.

In the one-and-a-half-minute IMAX video short below, check out what it takes to get one of the biggest-selling acts in American history amped.

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, will be out on September 24. The two-disc CD will come out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

A new behind-the-scenes clip from the making of METALLICA‘s new film, “Metallica Through The Never”, can be seen below. The clip contains footage of the band’s first runthrough on the mammoth stage in Oakland, California and also introduces us to the director of the movie, Nimród Antal.

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which will also play at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas several days before it opens in limited release on IMAX screens around the country on September 27. The film will then expand to more theaters on October 4.

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, will be out on September 24. The two-disc CD will come out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.

Zimbio.com‘s JJ Duncan spoke to the members of METALLICA prior to this past Monday night’s (September 16) screening of their movie “Metallica Through The Never” at the Metreon Theatre in San Francisco. You can watch the footage below.

“It’s kind of bizarre actually, to be standing on a red carpet in a place where you usually buy your popcorn,” METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It really brings it home, knowing that you’re premiering your film in a place where you bring your kids to watch movies.”

“We decided we needed to make this unique,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told QMI Agency about the “Through The Never” movie. “So we came up with the concept of having a running narrative in the movie that weaves in and out of the concert footage. We liked that idea enough to tell our managers, ‘This is the type of movie we want to make.'”

“I think that METALLICA fans that are really into action films and movies with a lot of energy are going to be blown away,” METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver magazine. “This is a very unique film. I don’t know what people are going to think of it. I like it. But obviously I’m biased.”

METALLICA reportedly spent $20 million of its own money to make the film, which will also play at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas several days before it opens in limited release on IMAX screens around the country on September 27. The film will then expand to more theaters on October 4.

The soundtrack, which features a number of METALLICA classics performed live in the movie, will be out on September 24. The two-disc CD will come out on METALLICA‘s own label, Blackened Recordings, also in digital and vinyl formats.

The concert sequences for the movie were shot in August 2012 at two shows in Vancouver, Canada and feature a stage containing elements of many of METALLICA‘s previous live productions from the past 30 years.